Our heroes, our saviors, our worshiped saints and stars are not perfect people. We have to think about that before we put them on a pedestal. They are made of flesh and blood like us. They bleed, they hurt, they can be petty; they can make mistakes.

Now, by saying that we shouldn’t give excuses for wrongdoing; only that we should understand that people are people with flaws and they will not be so perfect as to not have shortcomings. We shouldn’t turn a blind eye to errors but we shouldn’t be so quick to judge then toss aside someone because of a true and regrettable truth of not living up to our expectation.

I had one of my many conversations with some friends and the conversation turned quickly to Obama. I think the administration is being a lot like a corporation or a university when it thinks about the discontent in this country. They want to think the voices of dissent they hear is wither people with no intentions of listening to their side or people who, in time, will compromise and join them because they have no place to go. That’s the thinking of people who have been on the inside of the ‘game’ far too long. It is the reason why Republicans have been surprised by the monster they created with the Tea Party movement, which is taking over their party.

A long time ago my parents were Jesse Jackson supporters. Jesse would say jump and my parents would say, “OK Jesse, how high?” Now, they didn’t follow him blindly, but if it had the ring of truth, no matter how fanciful, they would follow what he said to a point. After a couple of missteps I saw him and other political/religious leaders take I was a bit cautious of being am informed follower and started to question. It was a small source of friction between me and my parents, but all changed when it was learned Jesse Jackson, while upholding the banner of faith and family, had a mistress with a love child who he was supporting with funds from the church. Even faith can be shaken when you have such a blatant betrayal of trust and one day, without fanfare, my parents said something bad about Jackson.

Time has softened their attitude but while they are willing to listen if he has something to say, they aren’t as willing as to put heart and soul, body and funds into something just on his word alone.

That is the situation this President faces with his base. I’m not talking about the hardcore or even soft core Democrats who work the elections or who can be counted on to vote. I’m talking about the young people who voted for him for the first time expecting to have the promises made to them met. I’m talking about friends of mine, older people who for the first time in a long time dared to hope that a politician would be less than slogans and promises given just to win an election.

The people out in the real world are losing faith in the President, in the governing body and in the country. I’m not saying this as some on the fringe person huddled in a bunker. People don’t see a horizon with a brighter day anymore. There is no belief in Morning in America. You have some people who see their comfortable way of life disappearing and they are afraid. As it was mocked when it was said during the campaign, there are many who are clinging to their guns and religion because they are afraid of the discontent and uncertainty over the horizon. The Republicans exploit that fear, making some vote against their best interest because they are so afraid the dark horde over the horizon will take over their country. Others look to the horizon and feel they are powerless before it, don’t see help coming from the Democrats and they are going back to cocoon themselves against the darkness.

I would hazard to guess if this were ten years ago you wouldn’t have viable candidates like Christine O’Donnell, Sharron Angle or kingmakers like Jim DeMint and Sarah Palin. They would have been laughed off the stage but many of these folks are within striking distance of winning seats in the House and Senate. Their wins may allow some of the kingmakers to look powerful enough to run for President in 2012. Like some of my friends, many Americans see the writing on the wall, understand the dark possibilities that lie ahead, but they have been so burned by both sides of the political spectrum they are unwilling to fight. They feel fighting won’t allow the winning side, the side they can put into office, to hear their pleas.

It’s like the Deep Space Nine episode where Sisko is so frustrated with the causality reports he has gotten from the war, so tired of seeing friends he knows die in battle, he is willing to do anything to turn the tide. The moral dilemma he faces is to do what is necessary he has to ‘compromise’ his ideals, but if the compromise is for the greater good, isn’t it worth it? If two people have to die so that billions can live, isn’t that acceptable? We are not facing a life or death challenge where we will have blood directly on our hands but we do face the prospect of doing nothing and allowing corporations and the rich to continue to use the masses as fodder for profit and income. We are losing our freedom at every turn and many who might fight this are tiring of the fight at an early stage of the game because they feel betrayed by those they gave their hope up to. In a sense that is the real problem. We gave our hope to a person, not to the idea. An idea is amorphous and must be nurtured and fostered by many people. It becomes something so powerful it cannot be altered when it matures. Putting your faith and hope in people is dangerous because people have faults.

My parents are still good people. Jesse Jackson doesn’t define them. Obama and his administration shouldn’t define the hope people had when they elected him. We need to lift our voices and demand the change we voted for, criticize when we have to and vote to let our voices be heard. Don’t let them define you. If you don’t like the two party system, remember there are others who run in elections rather than the big two. Show them, force the big two to listen to your voice because that is the only way change will come about.